Tarantino apologises to Roman Polanski rape victim

Quentin Tarantino has apologised to a woman who was raped by Roman Polanski when she was a child. AFP/Valery HACHE

Quentin Tarantino has apologised to Roman Polanski rape victim Samantha Geimer for comments he made in a 2003 radio interview with Howard Stern.

In a statement Thursday to IndieWire, the director called his comments about Ms Geimer “cavalier” and said he now realises “how wrong I was”. In the recently resurfaced interview Mr Tarantino said that Ms Geimer hadn’t been raped and that she “wanted to have it”.

“I want to publicly apologise to Samantha Geimer for my cavalier remarks on the Howard Stern Show speculating about her and the crime that was committed against her,” he wrote. “Fifteen years later, I realize how wrong I was. Ms Geimer WAS raped by Roman Polanski. When Howard brought up Polanski, I incorrectly played devil’s advocate in the debate for the sake of being provocative. I didn’t take Ms Geimer’s feelings into consideration and for that I am truly sorry. So, Ms Geimer, I was ignorant, and insensitive, and above all, incorrect.”

Polanski has been a fugitive since fleeing to France in 1978 while awaiting sentencing for unlawful sex with a minor. On Tuesday in an interview with the Daily News, Ms Geimer said Mr Tarantino “was wrong” and that she suspected he knew it.

“He was wrong,” she told the New York Daily News. “I bet he knows it … I’m not upset, but I would probably feel better if he realises now that he was wrong, after 15 years, after hearing the facts.”

Mr Tarantino earlier this week was much criticised over a dangerous car stunt on 2003's "Kill Bill" that injured actress Uma Thurman. He gave a partial apology to her, telling movie website Deadline that “I didn’t force her into the car.”

“She got into it because she trusted me. And she believed me.” He said seeing the crash was “just horrible ... It was heartbreaking.” He called it “the biggest regret of my life.”